SAFETY GUIDELINES

The sons of Julie Richardson, DiveWise’s founder, blacked out together on a 90′ freedive, requiring medevac, life support, and hospitalization.

The safety guidelines and rescue skills listed below are the result of a collaborative effort involving elite freedivers, spearfishers, scientists, and safety advocates in our country, including DiveWise. This information is based on the common triggers for blackout as revealed in fatal and near-fatal reports submitted to the Divers Alert Network Breath-hold Incident Database, developed and maintained by Research Director Neal Pollock, PhD.

By incorporating these guidelines into your regular dive routine you should greatly reduce your risk of succumbing to freediver blackout.

Freedive Safety

Dive with an evenly matched partner and conform to the level of the least capable diver.

Weight yourself correctly by being positively buoyant at the surface after a full exhalation.

Do not hyperventilate to excess.

Dive one up/one down maintaining constant visual contact of the diver.

When conditions allow, each diver should have a dive flag; if a boat is involved a dive flag should be conspicuously displayed.

Maintain close, direct supervision of a freediver for no less than 30 seconds after he surfaces, even if he has signaled he’s okay.

Review, practice, and discuss how to recognize and handle blackouts and near blackouts.

Rescue Skills

Get victim to surface immediately; establish positive buoyancy for both of you.

For a witnessed blackout remove mask and snorkel, tap the face for 5 seconds while vocalizing encouragement to breathe. If no response, immediately begin rescue breathing, 1 breath every 5 seconds.

Get victim to land or boat ASAP; manage ABCDs (airway-breathing-circulation-deadly bleeding) and start CPR with 30 compressions to 2 ventilations, as needed.

If evacuation from water is prolonged, monitor Airway and Breathing and provide rescue breathing (1 breath every 5 sec.) during transport if needed.

Seek help from EMS (emergency medical services) 911, or hail the Coast Guard on Channel 16 on VHF radio.

Following a blackout a victim should STOP diving and immediately seek medical evaluation.

Freedivers Recovery Vest

Dr. Terry Maas developed the Freediver Recovery Vest which is designed to automatically deploy and send a diver to the surface face up if he exceeds his preset depth or time. To learn more contact Julie Richardson.

GET SAFE AND GIVE BACK

The Freediving Recovery Vest (FRV) allows a diver to minimize risk of shallow water blackout by programming a max time and depth for a single dive. If exceeded, the vest will inflate and deliver the diver face-first to the surface.
DiveWise receives a generous $50 donation each time a FRV is purchased through our site. Please send us a note to order, thanks!

EXPLORE FREEDIVING

OUR MISSION

Dive Wise is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing freediver accidents through safety education and awareness. Since its inception in 2008, Dive Wise has become a unifying force in the freediving and spearfishing communities generating awareness of shallow water blackout and the steps to prevent serious injury.